On The Translator’s Subjectivity From Hermeneutics Perspective

Translation, whose essence is a kind of transmission, is an activity of intercultural communication (Lv Jun,1997). Obviously, as the medium of communication, the translator plays a significant role in the translation activity. The translator’ subjectivity is embodied from selecting translation material, understanding original texts to expressing the translated texts. Traditional translation theories considered translation as a mere language-interchange activity. Meanwhile, those theories stated that authors of the original texts were authoritative while the translators were subordinate. Therefore,"faithfulness" became the primary standard of translation evaluation at that time. After1970s, more and more scholars began to focus on the translators’subjectivity. This thesis starts with the introduction of hermeneutics, then it compares and analyzes two English versions, namely Six Chapters of a Floating Life and Six Records of a Floating Life on the basis of George Steiner’s four steps of hermeneutic motion, namely, trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation, to explore the translators’ subjectivity in the process of translation from an abstract situation to a specific one. This thesis also points out that the translators’ subjectivity is the main factor in translation from the beginning to the end of the translating activities.Fu Sheng Liu Ji is an autobiographical prose written by Shen Fu, who is a literary man of Qing Dynasty. The prose describes Shen Fu’s love stories, events of life, leisure activities, pleasure as well as notes of traveling in a succinct and vivid genre. The lines exude Shen Fu’s values——being morally pure, modest and indifferent towards fame and fortune. In this thesis, the author analyzes Lin Yu-tang’s version as well as the version of Leonard Pratt and Jiang Su-hui. Different translators create different versions from the same original text. Thus, it can be seen that translation is not just the transformation of two languages, but the manifestation of the translators’ own subjectivity. This thesis studies the embodiment of the translators’ subjectivity in detail, taking the example of two versions of Fu Sheng Liu Ji based on George Steiner’s four hermeneutic motion, so as to explore the key reason for the difference between the two versions——the translators’ subjectivity.In addition to an introduction and a conclusion, the whole thesis is divided into three parts In the introductory part, the author briefly presents the background information about the study——the process from ignorance to the focus of the translators’ subjectivity. In addition, the purpose, significance and structure of the thesis are mentioned in this part. The first chapter is the literature review. In this part, the author first reviews the definitions of subject, subjectivity and the translators’ subjectivity. Then, taking the culture turn as a watershed, the author introduces the origin, development as well as the previous studies home and abroad of the translators’ subjectivity. The second chapter is the introduction of hermeneutics, the main theory of the research, in which the author introduces George Steiner’s four hermeneutic steps:trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation. Chapter three is the focal point of the thesis. In order to study the embodiment of the translators’ subjectivity, the two versions of Fu Sheng Liu Ji is compared and analyzed under the theoretical guide of George Steiner’s four hermeneutic steps. Finally, in the concluding part, primary coverage of the thesis and the key reason for the differences between the two versions is summarized.